An Uncomfortable Situation in Winter
by cosmicrays
Summary: Darren and Mr. Crepsley stay in an old inn to escape the harshness of winter. Crepsley/Darren fluff. Nothing explicit, just swearing and some failed attempts at British slang by an American.


Hello to anyone who has decided to read my story! This is my first fanfiction on this site, but I've been lurking around on here for years, particularly in this fandom. I love the Saga and recently got back into it thanks to the manga rendition of the series after a long hiatus. I have a big thing for guy love, and this pairing happens to be my OTP.

I'm a firm believer that the Saga takes place in Europe, particularly in the British Isles. Darren Shan, the author, is Irish, so naturally he would write his "life story" in his homeland and home-continent. Unfortunately however, I am American, and really only know the rules to American English. I tried to include British spelling and slang, but I think I might have failed at it. To any British people, please forgive this ignorant American! Hopefully my four years of Accelerated/Honors English classes came in handy. Feel free to share your criticism, but be mature about it.

A little off-topic, has anyone heard about the four-book series Darren Shan is writing about Mr. Crepsley? Apparently the first book is being released in October 2010 in the UK and the USA. I read this off of Wikipedia, so I don't know the actual legitimacy of this claim. If anyone knows anything about it, please clarify!

* * *

It was sometime in the middle of winter, January I think. I was sitting beside the fire that I had just fueled, watching the flames dance around the freshly added logs, burning them to ash. A warm, soothing heat touched my skin as the flames gradually grew larger. Although part of me was inhuman and kept my body stable in harsh conditions, the other part of me was still human. I was not as strong as a full-blooded vampire, therefore more vulnerable to injury and cold weather. It was probably the coldest night of winter this season so far, and I was shivering in the thin layers of clothes on my back and the single blanket wrapped around my arms and shoulders.

Although I felt warmer, I was still not completely comfortable. I looked over to my mentor, sharpening a few of his daggers. He did not acknowledge me by looking up, but rather spoke, which startled me after the period of silence.

"Cold, Darren?"

"No, I feel fine." It was hard not to stutter, as a sharp wind hit my face just as I answered him.

"Nonsense. You are shivering." He continued working on the small blades, not even taking a second to glance up at me. Which was a good thing, considering by then that my face was probably a sickly blue color. Or my cheeks were rosy, but it had been awhile since I drank any blood. Whatever I appeared like at the time, I knew that I must have looked _cold._

"I'm fine, Mr. Crepsley." I could not understand it. There he was, sitting relaxed and comfortable with just his cloak draped around his shoulders and his shirt's sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It made me want to cry out in agony by just looking at how cold he should have been, but wasn't. Damn him.

I could see the corners of his mouth lift up slightly. He was probably smirking, the sardonic bastard.

"Well, then I hope that you do not mind if we stay out in the countryside tonight? There is a town about 20 kilometers down the road, and I was considering flitting us there so we could dine and sleep indoors. However, I really enjoy it out here under the stars and listening to the silence," Just how the hell do you listen to silence? "—and since you are comfortable out here as well, I do not see the point in wasting time in overly heated rooms."

…Overly heated rooms? I would have killed him on the spot if my arse wasn't frozen to the ground. "Y-yeah, that's fine with me."

His smirk grew wider. "Are you sure that you are not cold? Because Paradise forbid I keep you out in this weather only to let you freeze. A mentor would never allow his pupil to suffer without a lesson being taught." His voice was wrought with smugness.

"Y-you just like to see me submit, don't you? Sadistic old git. F-f-fine, have it your way. _I'm c-cold._ In fact, I'm f-freezing over here! And look at you! You look as though the weather isn't bothering you in the slightest! It's not April, Mr. Crepsley, its b-bloody J-J-January!" I was too busy yelling at him and too cold to notice that he had stood up, put his weaponry away, and grabbed the bucket of water we kept by the fireside so that it wouldn't freeze. He threw the water onto the fire, extinguishing the flame completely. A black trail of smoke rose from the fire timbers, and the pieces of wood were steaming and hissing from the contact of water.

"Why did you do that? It w-was keeping me w-warm—hey!" My second rant was cut off by surprise when Mr. Crepsley swooped me up in his arms. He looked at me, half amused, half annoyed. I tried not to notice that the position he was holding me in was considered "bridal style", or that his face was rather close to mine, a little too close for comfort.

"Now, do I have to carry you like the baby you sound, or will you stop complaining and get on my back like a big boy?"

I merely blinked at him, speechless. Who did he think he was to call me a baby? I'm not a baby, I'm a big bo—I mean I'm practically an adult by age, I'm only stuck in a young teenager's body.

Well, that didn't stop me from pouting. "Fine, I'll s-s-stop." He frowned, watching me shiver as a new blast of cold wind nipped at my body. He stood me up on my feet before shrugging his cloak off and wrapping it around my shoulders and torso. I immediately snuggled into the welcomed warmth. How was it so cozy? Was his body that warm? My hand twitched as I felt the urge to feel his hand, just to see how warm it was.

He made sure that the garment was tightly wrapped around me before instructing me to put my arms through the sleeves. "You will be able to hold onto me without having to keep hold of the cloak," he stated before kneeling down so I could latch onto his back. I felt absurd wearing his cloak. The sleeves were too long on my childish arms, so long in fact that my hands were completely covered and the extra length hung off of them. To put it simply, I looked like a delicate little damsel-child clutching to her much older hero.

I questioned whether I would have my sanity for very long. Mr. Crepsley didn't seem to notice my distress. Like any other time we flit, he grabbed my feet and held the shins of my legs to his side with his arms, in order to keep a secure hold of me.

I really shouldn't have noticed the close, rather personal contact I had with him at the time. I never noticed it before, why now? I also wondered why I never noticed that he had a certain scent, something like… mulled cider? It was faint, but it was there.

The smell and the comfort of the cloak almost completely absorbed me, almost completely helped me forget that I was literally _snuggling into Mr. Crepsley's back._ It almost helped me forget, anyways. I immediately snapped out of my short euphoria, feeling ashamed that my cheeks were burning, and not from the cold considering that the cloak was shielding my face from the sharp cut of the wind.

I glanced up at Mr. Crepsley's face, which had a look of concentration. He was focusing on flitting through the harsh weather. It began to snow lightly at first, but quickly picked up into a blizzard. Surely even my mentor wasn't able to stand the cold now. However, he did not look pained or bothered in the slightest. He did narrow his eyes though, as flakes of snow would blur his vision.

"Are you alright, Master Shan?" He called to me, as the roar of the wind was deafening.

"Yes, I'm fine!" I answered, raising my head over his shoulder. I winced as the snow hit my face. "What about you?"

He chuckled, glancing at me for a second. "I have endured worse, trust me."

--

We reached the town not even 10 minutes later. It was a small village hidden in the rolling hills of the English countryside. It was probably a nice little place, if it wasn't dark and blinded by snow. We found a small, cozy inn that included a restaurant attached to the side of it. Of course the restaurant wasn't open, but the inn's keeper was quietly reading a book at the desk by candlelight. Apparently the electric wasn't on, as there were gas lamps burning throughout the inn. Mr. Crepsley paid for the room and was handed an old key by the owner, who flashed us a smile before we ascended the stairs.

"This place is quite old," Mr. Crepsley mumbled, eyeing the key.

"I wonder if it's haunted," I added, peering down the hallway when we reached the top of the stairs. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mr. Crepsley roll his eyes, smiling slightly.

--

Our room was at the end of the hallway, one with only a single bed, much to my dismay. I definitely wasn't looking forward to sleeping in the same bed as that old bat, oh no. Absolutely not. I would stay up all day if I had to, I've done it before.

After a night of playing chess with Mr. Crepsley (and losing), morning finally came, but without the Sun. The snow was still falling as hard as ever, but we were both exhausted.

"I still think it's weird that they only have one bed in every room," I muttered.

"Like I said, this place is quite old. People would either sleep in a single room or together, depending on their marital status."

"Well I think it's time for this place to modernize."

He chuckled. "The inn would lose historical value, Darren."

"Bollocks."

"If you would like, Master Shan, I could sleep in the chair and you could have the bed to yourself. The chair is rather comfortable actually, so I would not mind." I glanced at him, a little surprised that he was being so generous. Then again, he usually was pleasant to me. He was my mentor and guardian after all. I immediately felt guilty for past behavior. Recently he's had the ability to do that to me. What a bastard.

"No, Mr. Crepsley. I'm smaller than you, the chair would be more comfortable to me than to an old man like yourself," I said, smirking.

"Very funny, Master Shan, but I insist. You should have the bed, it is the least I can do."

"What are you talking about? You paid for the room, you find the human whenever we need blood, you teach me about being a vampire… hell, you're practically keeping me _alive!_ You do a lot for me, Mr. Crepsley. Sleep in the bed."

He stared at me, obviously surprised at what had just come out of my mouth. I couldn't help but blush out of embarrassment. I looked away and mumbled, "Look, I'm grateful—for everything. I'm sorry for being a hopeless brat all the time. This is the very least _I _can do… for you."

Mr. Crepsley was even more surprised at that. Goddamn it, why am I still blushing? It shouldn't even be possible, considering I haven't had any blood for a few days. Finally, Mr. Crepsley reacted to my apparent change of heart. He ran his hand through his crop of red hair, shaking his head and smiling. Looking at me, he said, "Darren, you are not a hopeless brat. In fact, you have great potential. You pick up on lessons fast, you are strong, intelligent, and have a lot of spirit. You are just stubborn sometimes, but I was—_I_ _am_—too."

Okay, now it was my turn to be surprised. Did Mr. Crepsley just… praise me? Me, Darren Shan? His reluctant half-human pupil? I was sure I was hearing things, but no, he really just said all of that. And when I realised this, the color quickly returned to my cheeks. He grinned and nodded his head towards the bed. "Now, I believe we have a dilemma on our hands. I want you to sleep in the bed, but you refuse to allow me to sleep in the chair. How can we compromise?"

I crossed my arms, glaring at him. He was definitely right, we're two _very _stubborn individuals. I wasn't very open to compromise, however he certainly was. Damn it. Damn him.

"Fine, we'll sleep in the same bed, for one night only! Don't expect me to do this again, old man."

"Of course not, Master Shan," he said with a smirk on his lips and in his voice.

"You stay on your side of the bed and I'll stay on mine, got it?"

"Of course, Master Shan."

--

The curtains were closed, but that didn't stop the light from illuminating the room. I groaned, burying my face into the rather hard, but warm pillow—

Wait a minute. My pillow wasn't red, and I'm pretty sure it didn't breathe either.

_Ohshitfuckbollocksbloodyhell am I cuddling with my mentor?! Mr. Crepsley what's going on please let me go this is sooo weird and we shouldn't be… Oh, he's asleep._

I calmed down when I realised that he was asleep and not doing this on purpose. That's the only explanation why he's holding me, ha ha…

"Darren…" I froze when I heard my name. Oh no, oh no oh no oh no. Please don't tell me he just said my name in his sleep. Please oh please tell me he isn't dreaming about me!

Well obviously no one heard my pleading, because I heard him say my name another time along with unintelligible mumbles. Needless to say, my face was bright red, and probably matched his red shirt quite well.

I was about to wake him up, about to tell him that this was _very awkward, _but… I couldn't. He actually looked peaceful for once, just the opposite from the serious frown he usually wore. It always seemed as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, and now… just for now, that weight had been lifted. He appeared calm, and young. No, I couldn't wake him, and I couldn't risk waking him by moving away. I knew he was a light sleeper.

Well if I had to remain in that position with him, I might as well make the best out of the situation and get comfortable. I listened to his faint heartbeat and breathing. Soon I was beginning to drift, but my arms were uncomfortably folded up to his chest. I sighed, and gently moved my arms around him so that they hugged his torso. I buried my face into his chest, finally relaxing and drifting off into a pleasant sleep. Just before I went, I swore I could feel his arms tightening their hold around me.

--

"For the last time, I wasn't _cuddling _with you!"

"Oh really? Because I seem to remember waking up to something quite similar to cuddling—"

"_Similar to cuddling, _but not actually cuddling! Besides, remember me telling you to stay on your side of the bed?"

"I _was_ on my side of the bed, it was you who moved."

"I—but—It-It was… I was asleep, how the hell was I supposed to know? You were holding me first!"

"Now how would you know that?"

"I woke up earlier to you holding me!"

"Then why did you not move?"

"B-because… well at least I wasn't dreaming of you! You said my name!"

"I was dreaming of explaining to you how important it is to drink blood—again. Stubborn little brat."

"Old git!"

* * *

Thank you very much for reading! I would appreciate it even more if you reviewed.


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